


Interlude

by Jefasari (Tanark)



Series: Kpop more like Gaypop [18]
Category: (여자)아이들 | (G)I-DLE
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Just a look at their lives?, Referenced familial issues, Sorry v late, Soyeon has Feelings, Tough Yuqi, Yuqi's parents are probs wonderful ppl but not here, and thinks a lot, cute I guess, is this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:21:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25670521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tanark/pseuds/Jefasari
Summary: Maybe she takes it for granted sometimes.The familiarity. The support. Acceptance.Yuqi doesn't get that from them.
Relationships: Jeon Soyeon/Song Yuqi
Series: Kpop more like Gaypop [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1496747
Comments: 14
Kudos: 82





	Interlude

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hosiexa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hosiexa/gifts).



> Me, two weeks after coming up with this idea: (streaming BOCA) I gotta update or publish something today. It's been a few days, I GOTTA  
> Me: ha you thought you controlled your own motivation? Hehehehehe  
> Me editing this (Aug 25st): I shall prove you WRONG  
> Me now: fuck
> 
> Also there's a little M bit at the end but it's not explicit, only referenced fun times so this will remain T

There's a lot about Yuqi that Soyeon...likes. She won't say loves. They aren't there yet. She's brave and independent and open minded and thoughtful and sincere.

But for all that sincerity, she can be bizarrely difficult to read.

_"Could you...could you leave me a voicemail or something? There's a show that..."_

Soyeon's barely awake when she hears Yuqi's voice. Soft, probably from the kitchen.

_"Right."_

She doesn't sound happy. It's Chinese, so she only catches a few whispered words.

_"Okay. I'll just-I'll do something."_

Soyeon is pulling her covers away absently, stretching before walking out. She rubs at her eyes, the lights of the kitchen too bright.

_"Bye."_

Yuqi sets her phone down and Soyeon finds one arm extended to her as she gets closer. Damn, she wanted to scare her a little. Instead, she shuffles into Yuqi's arms and only grunts once while the younger girl arranges her half in her lap, half standing.

"Who was that?"

"Hm? Oh, my parents. They just wanted to tell me about some stuff happening with our house."

"Mmm. Nothing bad?"

"No, no. I'm impressed you actually got up this early, though."

"Heard you. Why did _you_ wake up so early?"

"Why am I being questioned?" Yuqi fires back. "I just want to make breakfast before Minnie goes crazy. We have eggs for once!"

"Good idea."

"Really? Will you eat the eggs I make if I add some green onion?"

"Will you pay me?"

"Hey!"

She leans back to avoid Yuqi's swipe and pats the girl's arm, letting herself be dragged back into a hug.

"You're lucky I respect you, our leader, or else I wouldn't make any food for you!"

"Okay, okay. Are you going to cook anything or what?"

"Yeah! You can just sit there and watch, I'll make some really good omelets!"

<\-->

They're in a pretty stable-though not clearly defined-relationship. Their first kiss was just a month before debut, the next one four months later. Soyeon found her cute and reliable and passionate and outspoken while Yuqi loved to cuddle her and ponder and gush over her thoughts and songwriting. She didn't fail to praise her nor be honest if something didn't sound amazing. She was Soyeon's first listener, first critic, even when she would jokingly complain about wanting to open one of the songs.

And despite the consistency of her on-camera persona only _occasionally_ yielding to Yuqi's charms, when they're home and she's tired and has a headache and wants to just be warm and sleep, she goes to see Yuqi. Normally the younger girl will cuddle or hug her, toy with her shirt or hair while doing whatever on her phone. Soyeon's fallen asleep like that, feeling assured and safe and calm.

A vastly different-but no less good-sensation than the one she _hopes_ to enjoy with Yuqi soon if...

But when she opens the door to her (their) room in a loose shirt and shorts and her makeup off, Yuqi is still in her in makeup and street clothes and already occupied.

"Your Korean is already really good, you don't need to study that much more."

"Ah, well...I know I'm good, but I have to be really really good if we're going to go on more shows. And...and sing new words."

Soyeon flops down onto the bed, wiggling until she's only partially on Yuqi's legs. The younger girl has a notebook next to her laptop where she's writing complex words, synonyms-Soyeon can read it all, but it's on the level of what Korean native would study for exams. She knows Yuqi takes pride in speaking the best out of their foreign line, but she also couldn't hide her concern for the youngest's communication struggles.

It's not wrong to say Yuqi likes being the best, but more accurate to say she has to be. She must be, because if she isn't...if she can't do it all, control it, hide it-

_"I-I didn't mean to...I really thought we were alone and-and that..."_

_"It's okay. Letting it out to them doesn't mean everyone will know."_

_"But I didn't mean to," she hisses. Soyeon sighs quietly, patting her shoulder as Yuqi furiously wipes her eyes._

_It's control. Yuqi has really, really good control of most things-besides her temper and volume-and losing control over something so potentially career-threatening, even if it was just in front of the members, even in the safety of their apartment, disappoints her. Not Soyeon, but her own standards, her own expectations._

_"The fans will have the suspicions they have. You've seen them with Soojin and Shuhua, it's just what happens. They don't know what's real."_

_Understandably, that's only a half comfort to her. They have these defined pairs they go around in, chosen both through their own preference and their management's encouragement to have the foreign members "normalized" or made more Korean in their manner. Sometimes it seems like Soojin would rather swap with Miyeon, though her private acts of caring for the younger make Soyeon think otherwise._

_"It's our members. They won't care. Besides, if they do, I'm the leader. And you're you. And we can yell and scare them and whatever."_

_Yuqi chuckles, inhaling deeply. She wipes her eyes a final time and turns back to Soyeon, taking hold of her forearm. Some people look ugly when they cry, but Yuqi isn't one of them. Her eyes gleam and it tugs at her heart in a painful way, but even her puffy cheeks are cute._

_"Thank you."_

_"Don't get cute and mushy. Let's just go back inside, it's hot out."_

_Yuqi knows well enough to just roll her eyes and pull Soyeon closer, smiling at the exaggerated groan of relief when they're back into the air conditioned building._

She's going to make the point that words are just sounds and they don't need to know everything to sing it, but she made enough fun of Yuqi at their schedule earlier, so maybe she should be nice now.

"Uh huh. And...Shuhua doesn't like to bother Minnie unnie when she doesn't understand something?"

"Well it's easier if I just tell her in Chinese-it takes longer for Minnie unnie to explain something in simpler Korean terms."

Soyeon hums, slowly rolling to rest her torso on a complaining Yuqi.

"Sweet."

"No! Just practical! We baby Shuhua enough already, I'm not doing this for her feelings."

"But you're still doing it to help her. At least a little," Soyeon presses, gesturing. Yuqi bats at her hand, smiling.

"I guess. Maybe I'm just nice."

Soyeon rolls her eyes, toying with her phone. Overly proud Yuqi normally disappears within a few-

"And it's-it's something I can do to be, you know, useful."

And there it is. Soyeon pats her leg, knowing she doesn't need to repeat the speech she'd given the younger before.

"I bet your parents are proud."

Yuqi's face doesn't change at all, but she nods.

"Mm."

"Really. You're really passionate in what you do. You know you're part of my inspiration for Lion."

 _Because your hair is messy like a mane,_ she wants to add, but this should just be sweet.

"I know! But then why-every time someone asks you about your inspiration, you say every other member-"

_Never mind._

"Geez-"

"And you leave me out on purpose, it's so rude! Gosh, unnie...ah, seriously, so wrong, you know I'm full of energy! You say Soojin unnie is fierce but I'm-"

Soyeon gently puts a hand over the other girl's mouth, grunting when her arm is thrown away as a full-scale rant begins. Yuqi's chuckling, at least, so her beratement isn't from anger. It's the type of teasing that lets Soyeon know she can either push back until they're both laughing or wait until Yuqi circles back to praising them both and decides to kiss her.

She'll wait a minute.

<\-->

It's when Yuqi gets the supportive letter from a fan in China and breaks into tears on a show that she remembers that conversation.

It's not like all parents understood it. She'd seen tons of interviews from idols, mostly females, whose parents disapproved or even actively tried to stop them from becoming idols. But Yuqi...Yuqi coming here with no one, with beginner Korean and harsh training standards and her parents occasionally sending her a small allowance and no emotional support-

Soyeon tears up a bit.

As much as the other members nod at her explanations that she's just homesick, that her parents text occasionally and they're bad with technology, she thinks at least Minnie knows as well.

They never called like Minnie's parents, never sent congratulatory presents or texts like Soojin's, never showed up to a concert like Miyeon's, never wrote in broken Korean to thank them for taking care of their girl like Shuhua's. Never treated them to a meal like Soyeon's parents eventually did.

(She hadn't told them, she couldn't tell them, but she thinks Yuqi's obvious nerves at the meal may have given her parents a clue to the "someone trustworthy and hard working" she was seeing and had refused to talk to them about.)

The world would likely never know and Yuqi would prefer it that way. As much as they tease her, she is tough enough to do it all without the firm safety net of her parents next to her. She knew that. That net was all the way back in China, unwilling to extend further, and that was too far to fall. But Yuqi can handle it.

It's just...Soyeon doesn't want to see her scared all the time. Of not being able to do it, not having that crucial component for someone their age to be totally settled in their lifestyle.

 _"They don't want me to suffer or anything, they just want me back home,"_ Yuqi had said once. Soyeon didn't realize that she was being more serious than just-just small talk. Of course they wanted her home, she was their daughter, their star, living in a foreign country at a young age with no immediate family around. Soyeon chalked it up to the natural nerves a parent would have, no fully understanding but not trying to judge. She won't ever get it.

They've never emphasized the division between the Korean and foreign line, not amongst themselves, not in any way that mattered; Yuqi and Shuhua would speak in Chinese to get around them or whenever they were relaxed and Minnie was happy to teach everyone little phrases in English and Thai. Soojin would teach them a handful of cooking techniques and Miyeon would show them around the "coolest places" other trainees went to and Soyeon had helped them with pronunciation and discussions with the company. There's parts of it Soyeon will never understand, little bonding moments she's missed because of her work. 

And when they're riding back in the van, holding hands while Yuqi blankly scrolls through whatever social media and the older two sleep and Soojin and Shuhua do whatever in the front seat, she overthinks. Little hesitations and eye rolls when she talks of back home always played off as annoyance over the distance or her parents' strictness. Cracks when the members go too far in teasing her, calling her dumb, making her slow and go quiet and not look at the cameras anymore; when she can't understand some words or when they get her back for little harmless jokes Yuqi likes to pull and make fun of her attitude, her loud, upfront personality.

They _love_ her, Yuqi knows that.

But they don't understand, and Soyeon knows that. Maybe Shuhua gets it a little, but their situations are still different. Soyeon knows her kind of nervousness, the kind where you don't know if you can keep proving your haters wrong. People you don't know that are actively against you-it's still so bizarre, and Soyeon uses it to bond with her, show her how to fight back without hitting back. Shuhua does tend to yell back, however, so she isn't totally successful.

But Soyeon isn't dating Shuhua. She's with Yuqi, she's Yuqi's...girlfriend, and she's not sure that she's been doing a good job.

Because now...thinking about it harder, she can place the time she woke up to Yuqi pleading, saying something about a voicemail as a few days before a show they were on. It was near mother's day so they'd been asked to write out or show a message they'd gotten or sent to their parents recently. Yuqi's had been a pretty generic text from her dad about being careful and keeping healthy, making sure to call her mom on time.

Yuqi rarely calls them, they call her. She barely talks about them, doesn't contribute to conversations about being lectured by parents or siblings, doesn't...spend much. They're making actual money now, have been for months, but only recently has Soyeon seen Yuqi buy something randomly.

Even on their sort-of-dates where they'd get food and some deserts, she wouldn't buy a lot. They split the bill almost every time, except Soyeon's birthday or that time she'd gotten a particularly nice royalty check. And even though they would grab smoothies as trainees or occasionally order out, that was small change. Plus...Yuqi would take advantage of the cafeteria or just drink water a lot.

Why is she just thinking about this stuff now? She's supposed to know her, observe her past what she does around the other members. Around her friends. Yuqi is with her constantly, has been _with her_ in ways the others haven't. She-she was the other girl's _first-_ not first kiss but everything else. Soyeon knew that, at least. She knew Yuqi's subtle signs of confusion and irritation, her feelings of shyness around their relationship that went further than the country around them opposing them-knew her stuffed animal, her favorite shorts, her favorite dramas, aversion to dairy, her side of the bed...

Soyeon does know Yuqi. A lot of her, most of her. Not her family, though, but that isn't _Yuqi_. That's part of her home life, not their current lives, and maybe she would like to know so they could talk about it or she could know not to bring it up or something. Maybe she just wishes Yuqi told her.

But maybe it's...none of her business?

"Soyeon?"

Someone tugs at her hand and Soyeon jumps, realizing they're parked and filing out of the car. Home. Sleep. Right.

"What were you thinking about so hard?"

"Nothing nothing, just a melody. Didn't sound right in my head, I'll work it out tomorrow," she murmurs. Minnie asks her something while Yuqi walks ahead of them, texting. She gives a half answer and apologizes for her sleepiness, telling Minnie to shower first. The door to the bathroom shuts and it's quiet. Yuqi's in either her own room or Soyeon's, she doesn't know-

Laughter guides Soyeon towards her own room and she shuts the door behind herself. Yuqi is pushing her socks off with her feet, hair stuck under the shirt she had just changed into. 

"Do you like sleeping in the same bed a lot?"

Yuqi looks up from her phone, tilting her head.

"Mmm, yeah. I don't get lonely that way. Do you?"

"I mean, it's really annoying when you snore or roll over onto my arms-"

"Hey! It's not like I can control that!"

"But-but I think sleeping next to each other is fun," Soyeon finishes. "I know I sleep better."

Yuqi blinks at her then looks down at her lap, cheeks going pink. 

"Well of course, I'm-I'm really nice to cuddle." she says, smug but flustered. Soyeon rolls her eyes, tugging her socks off.

"And, well." She's not smooth, knows it second Yuqi's eyes flick up as she crawls into the other girl's lap. "It makes uh, it makes...some things...easier. Excuses, timing, sneaking around."

"We don't need to sneak around," Yuqi murmurs with a smirk. Soyeon wraps her arms around Yuqi’s neck and kisses her, hard and deep so she _knows_ what she's saying. Yuqi's probably a little curious as to why now, they hadn't done anything sexy or been on a dry streak lately, but it's not like she'll ask now and risk Soyeon talking for too long. Regardless of why, from the hand sliding up the back of her shirt and narrowed eyes when she breaks away, Soyeon thinks their communication skills have never been better.

-

Yuqi is toying with her bra strap, still sweaty. It's late and they hadn't properly showered but they didn't have anywhere to be tomorrow. For once. She'd probably go to the studio while Yuqi went to see the dogs or practiced dance, then came to pry her away from her computer and have lunch. Or dinner, or just a meal at a random time of day. Together. Maybe alone, maybe with Minnie or Soojin or Miyeon or Shuhua.

Maybe they'd get a break to do this again.

(Thought not in the company building, never-they made out one time and nearly got caught and Soyeon had been sure Yuqi was a few scares away from heading back to China right then.)

All her thoughts fizzle out when Yuqi kisses her neck, lingering. It's warm, she's _hot_ , and Soyeon is pretty sure she'll be sore already but...she could go for-

"Good night."

_Ah. Never mind._

She settles her head on Soyeon's chest as the older murmurs something back, an arm around her shoulders.

Soyeon doesn't always know what to say in difficult moments. It's easier when she time, can write it down, can attach the emotions of a beat or melody to the words. So she waits until Yuqi's asleep and mutters the first honest thing that comes to mind.

"I'm really glad you came to Korea."

**Author's Note:**

> Aw kinda sad but hopefully also sweet rip  
> I dunno, I feel like Yuqi...she's a very interesting person, and I feel like if it weren't for the cameras and her cute image she'd be more...profound? Not to say she isn't like, thoughtful, but I feel like she just knows some things, you know?  
> I think I'm gonna write at least 1 more yuyeon fic before my 2021 break  
> Let's chat on Twitter <3 [@_Tanark](https://twitter.com/_Tanark)


End file.
